Chapter 19: The Mark of the Moon
1005 Words
Lucy’s POV
I was barely fit to walk around after the incident that almost took my life when all of a sudden, Nurse Kara burst from nowhere into my room, eyes widened like she had seen a ghost, and worst of all, she couldn't talk as her voice trembled.
“Miss Lucy, you are needed at the hospital where Eli is treated right now.”
My heart jumped, escaping its abode, down to my stomach for refuge. My ribs slammed against each other as I tried to get hold of myself. “What is it that happened?”
She didn’t even make any effort to answer right away. Instead, she grabbed my arm, knowing fully well that I couldn't walk on my own. I guess she was just working on impulse and didn't know what she was actually doing. She rushed and pulled me down the hospital hall and immediately got there faster than my body could actually keep up.
I tried to match her energy and steady my breathing as we hurried to get to where he lay. My mind had many negative imaginations when we drove from the penthouse to the hospital. A lot of possible nightmares crossed my mind, only awaiting reality. Did they make a mistake in his treatment? Had those after Ryker finally taken the heat on my poor brother? Did he suddenly stop responding to treatment??
When I reached Eli’s sickbed, I stopped abruptly. His eyelids, which I thought should be closed from the scenario nurse Kara displayed, suddenly fluttered and opened, not just opened. They were very wide, and as I watched him, I saw them glowing faintly like ambers.
“Eli?” I tried whispering as I leaned close.
He didn’t seem excited or respond to me as before. Judging from his strange behaviour, I couldn't even tell if he knew I was the one talking. His senses were not as they used to be; they were totally different. Kara then explained quickly to me but in a whisper.
“Miss Lucy, I suddenly noticed his eyes weren't the same; they now glow. His hearing and extraordinary senses were developed. It now appears like he can hear strange sounds, even far away. And the weirdest thing is that even the tiniest whisper, he can hear everything."
I swallowed very hard, unable to believe it. “Is this new development normal? Is there a name to be given to such a thing?”
She shook her head in negative affirmation, and I could see fear all over her pretty face.
“No. Ever since I started working here, I haven't seen anything related to what he has been displaying. We have checked, and no medical term has been used for his condition. This is not him healing; it's a different thing altogether."
I glanced down to look at Eli as he lay like a leaf; he was pale and weak. Then, I glanced back at Kara. “You mean he’s no more the same person he was when we brought him here?"
She nodded slowly as if scared to admit it. “Yes, that's right. Something hidden inside him seems to have awakened all of a sudden. But we are yet to understand how it operates."
My chest tightened all of a sudden. “But Eli isn't supposed to develop any complication, he was supposed to get better. We’ve done everything possible to stop his case from becoming worse."
Kara’s hands shook wildly as she tried to adjust the beeping machine. “That’s what I'm yet to understand till now. This may be... something that cannot be handled with machines. It may be something we can't fix with medicine here."
I bit my lip, and by now, tears had started streaming down my face.“And you didn’t deem it fit to inform Ryker?”
Her eyes darted toward the window nervously. “I wanted to inform him first. But then, the incidence of poison happened, totally overwhelming him, and I decided to withhold the information for some time. And if a truth, Miss Lucy, it hasn't been the same since he started developing strange behaviors. He hasn't been himself ever since that happened."
I frowned, totally confused about why she kept it hidden. “So, you told only me that you're still recovering what is happening; no other person knows?”
Kara nodded, bending her face in frustration. “Just for now.”
I leaned over to watch Eli carefully, desperate to glimpse the brother I grew up with, the brother who made my childhood memorable, the one with whom I am currently working as a surrogate mother to Carter. “Eli, please, don't do this to me. Please wake up. Please, I beg you.”
His fingers twitched as if he recognized me. Then suddenly, his newly glowing eyes locked onto mine as a strange power possessed him.
I swallowed an invisible lump already forming in my throat. “What if all of this isn't normal but a curse? What if my labor to save him was all for nothing?”
Kara placed a comforting hand on me. “You’re brave, much stronger than you can ever imagine. And Eli doesn't need a weak version of you. He needs you to be strong for him now more than ever.”
I closed my eyes, wondering why all of this was happening to me. I signed a contract to work as a surrogate mother for a ruthless Alpha; I was poisoned within a few months of staying there, started having strange dreams, and now, my brother's health has deteriorated to the worst state. Why are all these happening to me at the same time?
Just as I struggled to get myself together, Eli suddenly whispered something. It was a soft but strange sound. I couldn’t place my fingers where I had heard that sound before. Many thoughts ran through my head as I tried to make meaning out of everything.
What had happened to my only brother?
- Writer
